01x01 - Making the Cut

[bunniefuu]

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

[Leó Delibes's "Flower Duet"]

♪ ♪

narrator: Sports.

At their best,
they evoke tradition...

- For the 21st time...

narrator: History,

legacies passed down
through generations...

- They're off
in the Kentucky Derby.

narrator:
Pageantry and glamour

and the notion
that a single moment of glory

can last a lifetime.

And then--
- Ah!

- Let's go!
- Gobble, gobble, gobble.

- Here we go, man.

narrator:
Well, there's bowling.

[cheers and applause]

Which embodies
all those ideals as well...

- Ooh, ooh, ooh.

Work it, work it.

narrator: In its own way.

- [mumbling]

[Richard Wagner's
"Ride of the Valkyries"]

♪ ♪

narrator: Bowling began
in ancient times.

Seriously,
Egyptian pharaohs bowled,

as did feudal lords
in Britain.

And then it found
its way to America.

[upbeat music]

It became a cultural pastime.

- You can learn to bowl
and enjoy it, too.

narrator: And its popularity
skyrocketed

into the modern media age.

- Let's bowl.

narrator: From Al Bundy
to Fred Flintstone,

Big Ern McCracken to Balki,
even Nic Cage

in that one movie
where he was a family man.

Celebrities
and U.S. presidents,

Ronald McDonald, and the Dude

all helped make bowling
the unofficial sport

of the everyman.

Or woman.

Or Superman,

Wolfman,

even Jesus himself.

- Nobody f*ck with the Jesus.

♪ ♪

narrator: But it's the game's
genuine athletes,

its professionals
who truly have the ba*ls

to compete for glory.

- Strike to claim it.
And he got it!

- Who do you think you are?
I am!

[cheering]

- For the win.

- There's a win
for Kyle Troup.

- He's the greatest.
- Boom!

- He's the greatest.

♪ ♪

- To be a professional bowler
is the height of athleticism.

- Can I also get
four chocolate chip cookies?

[horn beeps]

[rock music]

narrator: Every year,
the very best in the game

come together for a grueling
four-month season

to battle each other
and a common foe.

- Ten big fat pins
just asking for it.

♪ ♪

narrator: Only a select few
get to live this life,

the glamorous life
of a professional bowler.

- Leading the U.S. Open.

Been sleeping on the couch
majority of the week.

This was home.

- These boots are so soft.

- This is more
than enough room.

- Gotta have the air fryer.
That thing's important.

- He's got
open ketchup packets.

Do you live in your car?
- I guess.

narrator: They travel
thousands of miles,

paying their own way.

- Fit a couple guys in here.

- Checkout process,
dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

- Yeah.

narrator: All in the hope
of some big checks.

- Yes, there is
Dr Pepper available.

narrator: Or at least enough
to quit their day jobs...

[beeping]

Which only victory
can deliver.

- These guys aren't paid
salaries by the PBA.

The PBA only pays prize money.

- This is their livelihood.

This is where they put food on
the table for their families

and pay their electric.

- Made some money this week...
- Boom!

- And got some W-2s.
[laughs]

Too bad the money
didn't equal the W-2s.

[classical music]

narrator: 5,000 years
of bowling evolution

has led to this.

- Let's go! You and me.

- He's going to get
f*cking punched in the face.

narrator:
An unforgettable season...

- God damn it.

narrator: Starring the men
who put the "professional"

in professional bowling.

- What if I throw it
like that, d*ck face?

[light music]

♪ ♪

- Jerry, do you want
a beef stick from my sponsor?

Hey, they're good.
They're protein. Like--

- I will not eat a beef stick.
- No?

- No.
- Ah.

I turned pro when I was 15.

You know, I had my PBA card.

I was a professional bowler,
but that by no means meant

I was a profitable
professional bowler.

[upbeat music]

My first job at 16 was
working at Wendy's.

I managed Wendy's
for about seven years.

♪ ♪

I won my first title in 2015.

Yes!

Went back to work
the following week.

People were like,
hey, I seen you on TV.

That's awesome.
Like, thank you.

Here's your Frosty.

- ♪ We have the taste,
that Wendy's taste ♪

- Yeah.

I mean, you gotta pick
the hair out.

This would be the celebration
a lot more frantically,

but I'm just making sure
my hair is

looking good for the camera.

I guess I'm the Bob Ross
of bowling.

- From all of us,
happy painting.

- Hello?
Oh, yeah.

Sorry, I'm doing a documentary
with these guys,

but let me put you on hold.

I just love doing that.
[laughs]

That's where I kissed it.

You can kind of see
my lip print a little bit.

- Jesus Christ.

Really?
[sighs]

- EJ Tackett's
got to be number one.

I'm sure I'm not
the only bowler

that's tired of seeing him win,
but hey, hats off to EJ.

Anthony Simonsen, number two.

I would put myself third.

Fourth, Belmo.

You know, he's been a little
lax the last couple years.

But, you know,
the man's got the records.

And, you know, that fifth spot
is really up for grabs.

Nasty, Mia.

Mama's back to bowling, too.

She bowled yesterday for
the first time in eight months.

- It's better
if your significant other

is a bowler
because you just understand

the support level better.

Be there for them
during the downs.

Be there for them
during the highs.

- When we're gone
away from our families

for two straight months,

that's just when
it gets tough.

All right. Ready, girl?
- Yeah.

- Aubrey, she's been my life
for the last couple years.

She's a ball of joy.

[light music]

♪ ♪

Oh, OK.

Look who came to bowl.

I grew up in a bowling alley
pretty much all my life.

♪ ♪

My father had me on the lanes
at a very young age.

- What do you think of Dad?

Is he going to win
the next match?

- Yeah.

- He started throwing the ball,
eight years old.

He'd always pick up
my 15-pounder.

But the ball was so heavy,
he ended up

putting his other hand
on the ball

and learning how to bowl
two-handed.

- You know, traveling around
with my dad,

he was one of the most
popular bowlers

throughout the '80s and '90s.

He was a bowler of the bowlers.

The crowd was his people.

[funky music]

My father, Guppy Troup,
is an eight-time titlist,

42 regional titles.

- The main thing on tour
I was known for was my pants.

- He had the crazy pants
back in the '80s,

and just his character.

- Some people know me because
I hammer the competition.

- Bowling was quite different
compared to now.

[rock music]

My dad liked to party
back in the day.

♪ ♪

- I spent as much time
in the bar

as I did on the lanes,
maybe more.

- He always wanted
to entertain fans.

You know,
he was very outgoing.

He was a showman of showmans,
and I learned a lot from him.

Oh! Right there, baby!

[bluesy rock music]

♪ ♪

- Hey, Joe.
How you doing?

I'm good.

Oh, my gosh, this is
the man I need to see.

This was my coach.

- You can kind of tell when
someone has the "it factor,"

for lack of a better term.

- Aww, you're so kind.

- You could tell
that Cam had the it factor.

He's been a superstar
since he was in high school.

- Can I take a selfie
with this?

[laughs]
[camera shutter clicks]

[upbeat music]

So I did every sport
when I was younger.

Bowling really stuck
because I was like, whoa.

Like, I'm actually
pretty good at this.

Like, let's keep trying it.

Me and my dad, our first-ever
tournament we bowled together.

This one's cool.

We won.

Was I nine at the time?
Nine or ten at the time.

- We are two of the most
competitive people.

We go at it in everything.

But it works for him
because he's very charismatic.

- Why is young man--Dad.

[laughs]
- OK.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

I used to practice
all the time.

Like, after school,
my dad would pick me up,

and he would take me
and my sister to go practice.

I actually, like, shied away
from talking about bowling

a lot when I was
in high school,

and people knew that I chose
bowling over basketball.

So they were like,
why'd you--why'd you do that?

Like, that's not cool.

And I just thought
the same sh*t.

I was like,
that's not cool at all.

No.

But funny enough, there used
to be a bowling alley

five minutes away
from my house.

I used to coach there,
so I made a deal with them.

Like, they didn't
even have to pay me.

I said, just give me
free games, and we're good.

So I took advantage
of that a lot.

They let me stay in there.

They would give me
the key sometimes.

I shouldn't say that, legally.
Sorry.

You know what? Cut that out.
[laughs]

♪ ♪

This is my first PBA season.

Now, I practice for about six
hours, five, six hours a day.

Go to the gym
for about two or three.

I work really hard,
and hard work is paying off.

So I'm like,
you're here for a reason.

Like, show them
why the f*ck you're here.

Like, show them
what you're about.

Is it me?
Let me burp.

Sorry.

Oh, no, I don't have to burp.

We're good.

♪ ♪

First tournament, we'll call it
a coming out party.

narrator: The Pro Bowlers
Association season

stretches four months,
from January to April,

and features 19 tournaments,

including five majors
that each offer

their winner a $100,000 prize.

[dramatic music]

- Kyle, what are your
predictions for the 2025

season for yourself?

- We've pretty much got
one prediction or one goal,

Player of the Year, you know,
coming back for my spot.

Sorry, EJ.

♪ ♪

- I come out on the tour
to win championships

and win Players of the Year.

That's why I'm here.
It's the whole point.

My mindset is,
I have to go out, bowl,

and beat the best players
in the world.

- Leading up to the season,
I was dealing with

kind of a back injury,

but I promise I want
to win every event.

Major, non-event,

I want to win them all.

♪ ♪

- Coming from Australia
to the U.S.,

like, jet lag is miserable.

I'm exhausted from traveling,
but it's never an excuse.

I very, very rarely am worried
about someone else winning.

- You know, excited
for the tour to start.

But then, you know, get three
or four weeks in,

and it's like, oh, God,
here we go again, you know.

This is my second home.

I probably drive

A lot of guys drive
because we have

a ton of bowling ba*ls,

about 21 in the back
of the car right now.

You can't fly with that
unless you're paying

$2,000 or $3,000
in baggage fees.

That's just the grind.

The grind is a little
different as a pro bowler.

narrator: The first major
of the PBA season

is the U.S. Open
in Indianapolis, Indiana,

home to David Letterman,
the Indy 500,

and, well, this year's
Bowling U.S. Open.

- Oh!

- The U.S. Open being
the first major,

I only live an hour and a half
from Indy now,

so I get to go with my family.

That's a blessing in itself.

That tournament means
a lot, especially

winning it the year before.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

You know, in 2024, the morning
of the U.S. Open show,

I felt more peaceful
than most finals.

Had my family there with me.

Then Aubrey pulled out
an Afro wig.

That moment is, you know,
what we live for, though,

you know, on TV with the crowd
cheering, chanting your name.

The other thing was,
that tournament, like,

I've probably missed that cut

six or seven times in a row
in my career,

and my father made the final
in 1984.

- Guppy Troup must strike
on this ball.

[cheering]

all: Oh!

- But he lost by one pin,
so, you know, it felt like

a chance at redemption.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

We did it.

- We did it.

- I love you.

I love you.

♪ ♪

Those emotions, yeah,
you can't top that.

[upbeat music]

Now I'm super excited

coming in
as defending champion.

I get to see my face
on the banner,

so confidence, all-time high.

- Go! Let's go!
[cheering]

Six pack! Here we go.

- I have
my "go with the 'fro" sign.

I got to finish it one second
because it's--

you can't see
with the pencil line.

It's going to have a 'fro
around the bowling ball.

narrator: More than a hundred
of the world's top bowlers

will be vying
for the U.S. Open's

coveted Big Eagle trophy...

[eagle cries]
- Yeah!

narrator: And that "one size
fits the winner" green jacket,

which is not exactly identical

to the Masters green jacket.

Or is it?

[bell dings]

Doesn't matter.

The winner also will take home
that big $100,000 payday,

just a hair under
what you get for winning

that other green jacket.

But with that newfound fame
and fortune,

they can also attract
new sponsors,

like bowling ball companies
or beef jerky or...

[toilet flushes]

Male-marketed
hygienic products.

- How do you wipe?

narrator: All in all,
winning this tournament

can truly define
a player's career forever.

- The U.S. Open is
such a tough test.

- I believe this is probably
the toughest tournament

on tour to win.

- It's a lot of games.

There's a lot of frustration
that happens.

- Oh, no.

[tepid applause]

- It's hard.

- There are many challenges
that you encounter

with the U.S. Open
that's different

from any other tournament,

you know, like bowling on four
different oil patterns

throughout the event.

narrator: That's right, oil.

- Oil.
- Oil, huh?

narrator: That geological
mineral that fuels wars

and crashes economies

is pro bowling's
secret obstruction.

[funky music]

♪ ♪

Each lane in the alley
is coated

with streaks of wood oil

laid out in an invisible,
elaborate design,

a pattern that challenges
the competitors by changing

ever so slightly every time
a ball rolls down the lane.

♪ ♪

narrator: So though the pins
never move,

the path to them does,

constantly augmenting
the degree of difficulty

and forever frustrating
the bowlers.

[crowd groans]

- Cameron is a big
confidence guy,

but if I had to rate him
on actual ability to rap,

it's, like, a 2.4 out of 10.

- Out of 3.

- Cameron is just
big vibes guy.

He's not actually
a good rapper,

but he has a good time.

- I'll spit a 16
for y'all right now.

Give me a beat.

- [beatboxing poorly]

- Let's go.

What?

♪ I'm in the car,
chilling with the crew ♪

♪ Me and Keven,
Keven Willy-do ♪

♪ Uh, uh ♪
[laughs]

- Willy?
Willy-do?

- You wasn't rocking with it?

- OK.

- Professional bowling
is a crazy job.

I'll tell you that.

There's some events
where you stay out there

for three weeks to a month,

and if you don't make
any money,

you're not just in a negative.

You're in, like, a big hole

it's going to take
a while for you

to recover from,
so bet on yourself.

We are at the house--

B&B basically, for the guys,
for the geese.

Y'all about to meet
all the cats.

You room
with a couple of bowlers,

save a little bit of cost.

You got it?

- Yeah, I forgot it already.

- We have my boy,
Keven Williams.

He's really easy
to get along with,

so I'm rooming with him.

When it comes to the game,
he's really intelligent,

so it's good to just have
somebody in my corner.

I'm toasty now.

This is comfortable.

Whose blanket is this?

- I'm over you.
- [laughs]

- Get out of my Airbnb.

- Whose blanket is this?

Keven, he's also
a professional rapper.

[rap music]

- ♪ Paper conversations,
I just talk that sh*t ♪

♪ Money making moves,
I just walk that sh*t ♪

♪ Loose off the Goose
like I pop that fifth ♪

♪ You see, I choose what I do,
I'm a boss, that's it ♪

- Whenever guys make telecasts,

they usually ask for, like,
two or three songs to play

when they strike or whatever,

to kind of k*ll
some of the dead noise.

And I had, like, 25 guys
as, like, strike songs.

I made one with Kyle,

and we did, like,
the "Pick It Out" song.

- Damn, son.

Where'd you find this?

- I've never heard this before.
- You've never seen this?

It's a full music video.

♪ Pick it out, pick it out ♪

♪ Pick it out, pick it out ♪

♪ Pick it out,
he be going ham with the ♪

Switch it up in the middle.

[both laugh]

Oh, this is going to be crazy.

♪ He be going ham
with the Afro ♪

♪ Too much sauce
with the outfit ♪

- Is that ketchup and mustard?
- Uh-huh.

- [laughs]

- This is when he started
making all the telecasts

and he was getting big
and whatever.

And it was fun to do.

♪ He be going ham with the ♪

- Yeah.

- There's a faucet right there.
- OK.

The f*ck you ask for?

[laughs]

Thank you.

Is that Liquid I.V.?

Oh, my God, were you drinking?

- No, dude,
I just like to be hydrated.

- Try to get the sponsorship.
Lock in.

- BlueChew, hit me up.

- No, not BlueChew.
[laughs]

- I actively tell
the PBA and Fox

that BlueChew should be
a sponsor for the PBA.

- [laughing]

- BlueChew?

I think it would be a hit
in the bowling community.

You got to think it's a bunch
of, like, old grumpy men

who, you know, might need
a little--a little power-up.

- A little help.
[laughs]

- A little power-up.
You know what I'm saying?

Think hard, be hard.
BlueChew.

- BlueChew.
[laughs]

[guitar riff]

- I like that.

- What the f*ck?

- All right,
from hipster to bowler.

The double life.

From a cool guy
in a cropped shirt to a...

[rock music]

[cheers and applause]

- Go, Drew!

narrator:
Day three of the Open

determines who makes the cut.

Every pin knocked down
over the past three days

is added up,
and only the top 24 move on.

- It's me versus the pins.

That's the way
you always got to think.

Yes!

All right, all right.
I'm starting to strike.

I'm starting to pop it.
Like, I'm talking sh*t.

[laughs]

Now I'm in my sweet spot.
Everything felt right.

- Somebody's excited.
- Oh, man.

Literally, when I tell you,
blocking my life,

I'm blocking my life.

- You know, let's look--

you're going to make this cut,
OK?

I know you said knock on wood,
but you got enough score.

You got enough wood.
You can breathe easy.

You made this cut.

- I'm at a loss of words
right now.

At the beginning of today,
I started in 45th,

and by the end of today,
I'm in the top 10.

We got more work to do.

So we're gonna celebrate this
for the next 20 minutes

and back to work tomorrow.

- Great bowling.
- Thank you, sir.

Appreciate it.
- Nice job, brother.

- Thank you, guys.

Bye, guys.
- Cam Crowe, everybody.

- We still got our name
in that hat

for that green jacket,
which is what we're going for.

narrator: Even though the
day's bowling isn't finished,

Cam already qualified
in the round of 24.

narrator: Meanwhile,
Kyle Troup,

the reigning champ,

needs a solid final game
to make the cut.

♪ ♪

[cheering]
- Yes!

- Come on, baby.

- Hit a couple rough games
early.

It was mentally
a roller coaster.

[crowd groans]

[cheering]
- Yes!

narrator: The ability
to perform under pressure

is essential for any bowler.

Kyle has his own strategy
for staying locked in.

- I do love some Sudoku.

That was the trick.

My mental game was
calm and relaxed.

- So when he doesn't use
his phone,

doesn't worry about
who's bowling around him

and what they're bowling,
he does fine.

- I was comfortable,
I knew how the oil patterns

on the lanes
were transitioning.

- Good shot.

- Go to the last game, I knew
it was going to be close.

- Yes!

♪ ♪

[applause]

[pins clatter]
[cheers and applause]

- I noticed
there was a lot of cheering

going on somewhere else.

Somebody else is making a run.

[applause]
- Nice job.

- I can't help
but know the math.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- So?

- Going home tomorrow, girl.

♪ ♪

I missed the cut by two pins.

Just lack of focus early,
lack of being calm.

♪ ♪

Probably could have got
two pins somewhere.

♪ ♪

You can always find two pins
just about anywhere

after 24 games.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

narrator:
Before you get worried

you won't see Kyle again
this season, relax.

Remember, there are four more
major events on the season.

both: Oh!

narrator: Events that will
push all of them to the limit.

- Damn it.
- Oh, come on, man.

- I'm burning this building
to the ground.

- f*ck you.
- f*ck!

- Shove your camera
up your a*s.

narrator: But as far
as the U.S. Open goes,

the final round is set
to be an all-out...

- I don't trust him
one f*cking bit.

narrator: Pin-knocking w*r
for the big check.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

[bright tone]